Is Indie the new mainstream?

Most of us can attest to the fact that our playlist and music libraries are filled with music from artists who are yet discovered by the world. Although mainstream is the ideal goal for most it is becoming more common that indie is the new mainstream. Technology has played a major role in helping with the exposure and resources needed to help artists navigate through the industry. Social media has become the biggest marketing tool and source of advertisement for the industry at large. With social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat just to name a few it is easy to save on marketing dollars. With marketing and advertising being one of the major components to the success of artistry I believe that social media has helped to pave the way for many of our leading indie artists to date. So we ask ourselves the question is Indie the new mainstream?